Lifeguards have sinking feeling again over lack of summer rentals in area

THREE young lifeguards desperate to find accommodation in West Cork are hoping lightning will strike twice and that an appeal in this newspaper will produce results.

Last year the young women issued an appeal for a short-term let to avoid having to drive three hours a day to their homes in Cork after a busy day protecting bathers at West Cork beaches.

A reader of The Southern Star had compassion for the women and provided them with a farmhouse near a beach that proved to be perfect for their needs over the summer.

The lifeguard who reached out to The Southern Star again this year said: ‘My friends and I are looking for somewhere to live in West Cork as we will be working as lifeguards around Clonakilty.

‘The article you published last year helped us greatly to find a place to live so we are hoping it will do the same this year as we can’t find anything at the moment.’

‘There are not a lot of affordable options,’ said the UCC student.

‘Most are holiday rentals which means they are only available for two weeks, or are AirBnB, and the prices are really high.’

Last year, it was on the very day that The Southern Star came out that Maura Duffy, a mother of one of the women, rang to confirm that the article had produced almost instantaneous results.

The property owner and his wife got in touch with the kind offer and proved to be ‘extremely fair’ in setting a weekly rent.

Unfortunately, that property is no longer available.

Last year, Maura said they actually got three offers, including one from a woman who used to do B&B, but said the girls could have the rooms.

It meant the lifeguards were only a five-minute drive from their work instead of being stuck in the car for three hours or more every day.

‘The people of Clonakilty are proud of their lifeguards and are appreciative of the work they do and wanted to see them right,’s aid Mrs Duffy.

Anyone with accommodation available for rent in June and July can call 086 3846159.